Obituaries

DAVID RAPHAEL MAIZEL

VIRGINIA BEACH—David Raphael Maizel passed away on April 2, 2022 surrounded by the love of his family and closest friends.

David is survived by his wife, Honey, his son Lee (Isabel), his son Jay (Susan), his son Ari (Nikki), his daughter Hally, his brother Raymond (Karen), his five grandchildren Tatyana, Lake (Sarah), Bella (Ben), Max, and Gemma, and a legion of nieces, nephews, cousins, and family members throughout the world.

David was born at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Patterson, New Jersey on December 25, 1948 to Joseph and Ruth Maizel. An exceptional student and high school basketball player, David was destined for greatness at an early age. He graduated from Rutgers University and received his medical degree from the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. During medical school, David enlisted in the US Navy, serving as a physician in Exmouth, Western Australia, and Boone Clinic at Little Creek Naval Station in Norfolk, Va. David was honorably discharged at the rank of Lieutenant Commander.

After leaving the US Navy, David dedicated his medical career to family medicine and was the founder and managing director of Providence Road Family Practice, a primary care practice that continues to serve the Virginia Beach community in Kempsville. After integrating with Sentara in 1995, David served as executive medical director, and later president of the Sentara Medical Group. David was loved and admired by his patients, his staff, and his colleagues throughout his career.

David was proud of his Jewish heritage and remained committed to community involvement throughout the past 45 years. David was a board president and member of the board of directors at Temple Emanuel in Virginia Beach, member of the executive committee at Beth Sholom Village in Virginia Beach, served on the Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, and served as leadership giving chair and chair of the general campaign for United Way of Hampton Roads.

To those who knew him, David was one of the kindest, most caring, and intelligent human beings on the planet. David was equally welcoming to his family and friends as he was to perfect strangers, and to know him was to adore him. David’s passing is a tremendous loss for his family and for his beloved community, but his legacy will be carried on by his children and grandchildren who will live to honor his memory.

Funeral services for David took place at Temple Emanuel in Virginia Beach. The family requests donations to the David Maizel Memorial Fund supporting clinical and religious activities on campus at Beth Sholom Village (visit www.bethsholomvillage.com or contact the development department), the Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater (https://holocaustcommission. jewishva.org/) or Zero The End of Prostate Cancer (https://zerocancer.org). Online condolences may be offered to the family at hdoliver.com.

BEVERLEY SAUNDERS WEISMAN

VIRGINIA BEACH – Beverley S. Weisman passed away March 20, 2022.

Altmeyer Funeral Home-Southside Chapel is assisting with arrangements. To leave an online condolence, visit www. altmeyerfh.com.

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www.hdoliver.com ESTELLE HARRIS, ACTRESS WHO PLAYED GEORGE’S MOTHER ON SEINFELD

Shira Hanau (JTA)—Estelle Harris, the Jewish actress who played George Costanza’s mother on the sitcom Seinfeld, died Saturday, April 2 at the age of 93.

Harris played the role of Estelle Costanza, the always shrill and frequently apoplectic mother to George Costanza, on the sitcom from 1992 until the show’s finale in 1998. According to Deadline, the character of George’s mother was named Estelle before Harris landed the part—but her name wasn’t the only thing Harris shared with her onscreen character.

“I’m not that different from Estelle Costanza,” Harris told the Chicago Tribune in 1995, at the height of her Seinfeld fame. “I understand her frustrations. She needs to break away from her husband. She would be much happier doing her own thing. She doesn’t need therapy. She needs more love from George and her husband. Then she’d be a perfectly delightful and delighted human being.”

Harris was born in New York City in 1928 where her parents, Jews of Polish descent, owned a candy store in Manhattan. When Harris was seven years old, the family moved to Tarentum, Pennsylvania, where Harris suffered from antisemitic bullying at school. She quickly turned to the theater, aided by elocution lessons, and found her calling.

Before working as a professional actress, Harris married Sy Harris, a window blinds salesman, with whom she had three children. After staying at home when her children were young, she began her career working at dinner theaters in New York City in the 1970s.

Though Harris went on to a prolific career recording voiceovers for commercials and playing minor characters in movies and TV shows, she became so identified with her Seinfeld role that fans frequently stopped her on the street to tell her she reminded them of their own mothers.

Jason Alexander, who played her character’s son George on Seinfeld, remembered his “tv mama” in a tweet.

“One of my favorite people has passed —my tv mama, Estelle Harris. The joy of playing with her and relishing her glorious laughter was a treat. I adore you, Estelle,” he wrote.

STEPHEN SHALOM, AMERICAN SEPHARDIC PHILANTHROPIST WHO PROMOTED TOLERANCE

Stephen Shalom, a leader of the U.S. Sephardic Jewish community who promoted Middle East peace and religious tolerance, died at 93.

Shalom died last month.

The heir to a handkerchief manufacture fortune, I. Shalom, now known as New York Accessory Group, Shalom was at different times in his life a leader of major Jewish and pro-Israel philanthropies. They included the United Jewish Appeal of Greater New York (now the UJA Federation of New York), the